The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

5025.1: Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 8:30 AM

Abstract #50088

Integrating Environmental Health into Health Care

Andrew M. Pope, PhD, Board on Health Sciences Policy, Institute of Medicine, 2001 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20007, 202-334-1739, apope@nas.edu

People are increasingly concerned about potential environmental health hazards and often ask their health care providers questions such as: "Is the tap water safe to drink?" "Could my miscarriage be due to the environment where I work?" and "Is it safe to live near power lines?" Unfortunately, physicians and nurses often lack the information and training related to environmental health risks needed to answer such questions. The Institute of Medicine released a series of reports Environmental Medicine: Integrating the Missing Element into Medical Education; Nursing, Health & the Environment; and Environmental Justice, recommending the integration of environmental health into medical and nursing professions. This presentation will summarize these reports and discuss IOM’s recent efforts to improve the integration of environmental health into health care. The results of a recent survey of how well environmental medicine has been incorporated into medical education will also be presented.

Learning Objectives:

  • At the end of this session participants will be able to

    Presenting author's disclosure statement:
    I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

    Infrastructure Development: Integrating Environmental Health into Health Care Provider Education and Practice

    The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA